Happy Birthday Naruto!
by Lyhtning
Summary: Bday tribute! It's Naruto's birthday but it's not a big deal...he's never celebrated a birthday, much less with someone else! Will it change, now that he's part of a family he never had...Team 7?


Disclaimer: Yup, I own Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and everyone else…oh, did I also mention I was the ruler of Heaven and Hell? Nope, didn't think so…

Konnichiwa! (grins) This is a birthday tribute to the one and only, number one ninja of Konoha, Naruto! YAY! It's his birthday on Oct. 10 sooooo I decided to make a fanfic of his birthday! This fic celebrates Naruto's birthday, Team 7's friendship, and has hints of sasu/saku. (how can I NOT? I'm obsessed with that pairing…lol)

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**Happy Birthday Naruto! **

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Silence hung like a drape over the lone ninja's small house. Empty instant ramen cups and bowls littered the ground in a maze, carelessly thrown or dropped by the consumer. A small table and a seat fit for one occupant stood near the kitchen. The only other room in the house was the bathroom, which was pretty small in comparison with the neighbors. Near the window, a bed resided with only one person sleeping peacefully.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

The mass of blonde spiky hair evident under the night cap shuffled a bit at the disturbance.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

A groan escaped the boy's lips. His eyelids opened slowly, wincing under the sun's harsh glares of morning sunshine. He slid the covers off of his body and plopped out of bed, a bit wobbly from sleep. The blonde was only clad in boxers and a black t-shirt, save for his night cap.

His hand smacked the snooze button, silencing the annoying contraption. The boy's half-asleep state glanced at the source of his awakening. The bright red numbers of his alarm clock read 8:00. The boy shuffled over to his calendar, which was held on the wall next to the kitchen. It was October.

His eyes drifted down to the dates and was immediately attached to the box containing October 10th. A red circle surrounded this particular date and a badly-drawn picture of a cake with 13 sticks as candles was below it.

Instantaneously, his eyes snapped wide open, revealing ocean blue eyes. A bright smile plastered on his face as he threw his hands up.

"Yosh! It's my birthday today!" Naruto shouted raucously, his infamous silly grin on his face. But the moment was ruined when a sudden realization dawned on him. Naruto's eyes fell on the floor, and traces of joy were gone.

For as long as he could remember, he had never celebrated his birthday since the day he was born.

A sad smile graced the fox-boy's lips. His buoyant attitude refused to be distinguished by this reminder. He had endured the neighbors' cold stares when he was younger and oblivious to the demon residing inside of him. He had endured the lonely nights of no celebration for 12 years.

He could endure it for more years to come, right?

Shrugging his dread of loneliness off, he retreated to the bathroom to get ready for another day of training.

-

Team 7 had paused from their training by near afternoon and were recuperating a bit at the bridge. The training was gruesome, but that was to be expected when your teacher was Kakashi. Speaking of Kakashi…that pervert was still buried within his book!

Naruto snuck a glance at his teacher's reading material and made a face. "Ano sa, ano sa! Kakashi-sensei, what's that book you're reading?"

The jounin spared the fox-boy a glance and reached over to pat his head. "You're too young to be reading this, Naruto. When the time comes, however, I'll lend you some." A knowing smile on his face and that was that.

Sakura, who was still panting from the vigorous work-out, straightened up. She walked over to Kakashi and whispered something. Naruto watched in confusion as his teacher's facial expressions changed from one to curiosity, to seriousness, to giggling, and to knowing. When Sakura pulled away, Kakashi sent her a thumbs up and cleared his throat.

"Oy, Naruto!" Kakashi called, putting away his beloved book. "How about you and I having some man to man talk?"

Naruto blinked. "Man to man talk…?"

Kakashi nodded enthusiastically, ignoring the glare Sakura sent him. "You know, back in the old days, when boys came to your age, they were no longer considered kids, but men!"

"Huh?" Naruto was still confused.

Sasuke scoffed. The dobe would believe anything that spouted out of that pervert's mouth.

"Well, I'm going to educate you on the changes that will happen when you become a man!" A wide smile broke onto Kakashi's face. "Such as puberty-"

"What Kakashi-sensei means," Sakura interrupted abruptly. "is that he wanted to explain to you the joys of becoming a man. He's noticed you…err, had some troubles of manhood so he'll help you!"

Naruto raised a brow. "What about the rest of training? And I don't need any help-"

"Training is over for today," announced the jounin. "Now, now!" Kakashi chided as he grabbed Naruto by the back of his orange jacket when he attempted to run. "No need to be shy, every boy goes through this stage in life!" He said in a sing-song voice.

"W-wait- what! Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme! Help me!" Ignoring his pleas, Kakashi continued to drag the boy away from the bridge, talking about the joys of becoming a man and what-not.

When Sakura was sure the two other members of her team were gone, she turned to the stoic boy beside her. "Let's go Sasuke-kun!"

The Uchiha grumbled but followed his pink-haired teammate. "Why am I doing this again…?"

"Because Naruto is your friend!" Sakura said while they ran to her house. "And, if you don't follow through with this, I won't plan this for you on _your_ birthday!" The threat in the second part of the sentence was evident.

For some reason, Sasuke didn't enjoy the idea of Naruto getting Sakura's special treatment, while he received none.

Begrudgingly, he followed the mass of pink hair to her house without another word but a small smirk on his face.

-

"…and so, Naruto, when the male releases sperm, they fertilize the egg from the female, and make little baby Sakura and Sasukes!" Kakashi finished his long lecture of how a baby is born with a flourish of his hand and an overly-happy smile on his face. The jounin had long-stopped dragging him when the fox-boy promised not to run-off.

Naruto either didn't hear the last part, or was too scarred of his 12-year-old mind to protest. "Kakashi-sensei, when am I going home?" He said droningly. "It's already past evening! I have to cook my dinner, you know."

Kakashi's mask crinkled as he smiled. "Right now. Come on, I'll walk you home."

The hyperactive blonde frowned. "Kakashi-sensei, I'm old enough! And besides, I'm a ninja- stop acting like I'm a child!"

The masked jounin said nothing and instead sighed in fake exasperation.

The silly grin never left Naruto's face but betrayed what he was truly feeling. Deep inside, Naruto knew he would have to spend his special night alone…again.

-

They finally arrived at Naruto's mediocre house. The Kyuubi-vessel no longer had any of the happiness prior to the arrival at his house. He stared at his door with cerulean eyes. There were many reasons why he loved missions. One reason was that he could meet his team. Another reason was that he would be closer, no matter how small of a difference it would be, to increasing his skills.

But the _true_ reason why he loved missions so much, was that he would be away from the loneliness his home provided. In the morning, Naruto would rush to Team 7's meeting place by the bridge and welcome any challenges sent his way. After the day was done, he would slowly walk home and take as much time as possible away from his one-room house.

Kakashi waited patiently beside his student. He raised one lazy eye at the solemn-looking house and sighed. He felt bad for Naruto, having to live in that lonely house all by himself. Just when he was about to turn his eyes away, something in the window caught his perceptive eye.

He looked closer, and saw a pink-headed person waving at him from inside Naruto's house. Kakashi glanced at Naruto and sighed in relief. The fox-boy was still deep in his thoughts and didn't notice anything.

The jounin looked back at the window to find Sakura gone and Sasuke in her place. The dark-haired boy nodded, the same old poker face. Kakashi sweatdropped. Would it kill the boy to at least _pretend_ to smile? Especially since this was a special day.

Kakashi looked back at the young boy and the corners of his lips upturned. "Naruto, aren't you going to go inside?"

Upon hearing his name, the boy snapped his head up to face his teacher's smiling face. "Huh? Oh…" Naruto's eyes were downcast again and he mumbled his words. "…yeah…"

The saddened boy reached for the doorknob and shuddered at the contact of cool metal on his warm skin. 'Just like inside…cold and lonely…' Naruto thought wryly. Kakashi's smiling face encouraged him to go in.

The blonde-spiky haired boy turned the doorknob, slowly and painstakingly. He lingered outside as much as he could, in the company of his laidback sensei. But it was now the time to go inside and cook another boring meal of cup ramen. Though he did love the stuff, it grew stale on his tongue after eating it for dinner on a daily basis.

Naruto sighed and opened the door fully, opening into the dark recesses of his home. "See ya, Kakashi-sensei." He muttered without turning back. Unknown to him, Kakashi was still wearing that all-knowing smile.

The future-hokage shuffled inside and slipped his sandals off, not even bothering to close the door. He groped for the switch to light his way but before he could find it, someone had already flicked it on, bathing the room in light.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARUTO!"

Naruto's eyes widened. There, in front of him on the couch, was Sasuke and Sakura, both smiling. Well, if you can count Sasuke's smirk a smile.

The room was brightly decorating with multi-colored streamers taped on the normally blank white walls. Red, yellow, white, blue, pink, black, green, orange, purple, and other colors of balloons covered the ceiling, except for the space for the lights to shine through. A small pile of brightly wrapped presents lay on Naruto's bed.

The table that was leaning against his kitchen wall had been moved in front of his coach.

The dirty table fit for one had been wiped clean and was covered with an orange cloth. On top of the cloth lay a large homemade cake. The sides of the cake were lined with Konoha symbols, each one precise and made of a delicious chocolate icing. On the top were various fruits covered in syrup: strawberries, tangerines, pineapples, kiwis, and others that added a colorful touch. Chocolate icing swirled in a whirlpool-like way in the center, much like his name, Uzumaki. Placed accordingly on the whirlpool-like icing design were thirteen orange candles, already lit and ready to be blown.

His disbelieving eyes wandered back to the smiling faces of Sasuke, Sakura, and now, Kakashi, who had drifted from the door-way to the couch while Naruto took in his redecorated house.

The fox-boy's eyes started stinging and the familiar feel of liquid formed in his eyes, blurring his vision. "K-Kakashi-sensei? …S-Sasuke…teme? S…S…Saku-Sakura-ch-chan…?" He tried to suppress it but the strain in his voice was evident.

"Happy birthday, Naruto!" Sakura said cheerfully, though she wasn't ignorant of the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

Sasuke remained his composure. "Happy birthday, dobe."

"Speechless, huh?" Kakashi said with that lazy tone of his. "Sakura out-did herself. She's the one who planned all this, you know."

The pink-haired girl blushed from the comment but shook her head, whipping her short pink locks about. "You're my friend, Naruto. Friends give each other surprises!"

"Hn. You better enjoy the cake, dobe." Sasuke stated, pleased at Naruto's reaction at their hard work. "I helped Sakura with the baking." A little blush devil made its way to the Uchiha's cheeks as he addressed the only female in their team.

"And I distracted you!" Kakashi said gleefully, proud of his work. "I hope I didn't scar you too much…" He chuckled.

Naruto was speechless. His throat felt dry and no words formed in his mind. It didn't matter, though. No words could express what he was feeling. Fully formed tears slid down his whiskered cheek but he made no movement to brush them away.

Sakura hastily wiped her own tears with a finger. "N-no need to get all emotional, Naruto!"

His body began shaking from the pent-up emotions Naruto kept and in an effort to stop, he bit his bottom lip. Just looking at his team's friendly faces caused a…a bubbly feeling to erupt inside his chest.

"Come on, Naruto," Sakura joked, waving her hand. "The cake won't be _that_ bad. I even made sure Sasuke-kun didn't poison it!" She finished with a laugh.

Sasuke smirked. "You never know…"

Kakashi chuckled. "Don't worry, Naruto. I have ultra-super-ninja-senses to detect any poison!"

Sakura immediately turned into Inner-Sakura mode and shouted, "Liar!" at the laughing jounin. A warm smile made its presence known on her face when she looked back at Naruto. "Aren't you going to say something, Naruto?"

'What's…this feeling…? It's like I'm excited or something…' Naruto's blue orbs brimmed with tears, making them seem brighter than usual. He sniffled, and raised a hand to brush his nose.

"You…guys…" His voice cracked and forced him to take a shuddering breath. They just kept on smiling back. "…t-th-thank-thank…y-you…!" Naruto dashed to them and pulled them in a fierce bear-hug, catching them by surprise. Their eyes widened before a wide smile spread across their faces.

"Haha! Alright, Naruto, hurry up and make a wish." Said Kakashi, patting the crying fox-boy's head.

Sasuke grunted with discomfort but a wry grin belied it. "Dobe…you're crushing me…"

Sakura laughed, returning the hug as much as she could since she was in between Sasuke and Kakashi.

Naruto released his vice-like grip on them and quickly wiped his eyes with his orange jacket sleeve. His face broke into a wide grin and he whooped as he dashed to his cake. "Yay! A birthday cake for me!"

Sakura and Kakashi laughed with mirth at the familiar hyper blonde and took their place on the couch. Sasuke sat next to Sakura, muttering, "Dobe," with a smirk. Naruto closed his eyes, a huge smile plastered on his face.

'I wish…'

-

After Naruto blew the candles out, Sakura cut the cake and served huge slices to her teammates. Naruto quickly dug in and asked for more, while Kakashi took long, reserved bites, savoring the taste of Sasuke and Sakura's homemade cake. Even the usually brooding boy who normally disliked sweet things took a bite.

"Mmmmm!" Naruto licked his lips to clean the remnants of his cake. "That was delicious! I can believe Sakura-chan made this, but Sasuke-teme? Hell no!" He handed his paper plate to the outstretched hand of Kakashi. The man's mask crinkled as he smiled and scooped up another piece onto Naruto's plate.

Sasuke growled. "What's that, dobe?"

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded the grinning fox-boy after sliding her fork out of her mouth. Naruto just grinned boyishly and began digging into his sixth piece of cake.

After a period of peaceful silence, Sakura spoke up and posed a question.

"What did you wish for, Naruto?" The pink-haired girl asked, sliding her tongue around the edges of her mouth. She caught a stray piece of chocolate icing and held the taste in her mouth until it dissolved.

Sasuke, who had been closing his eyes and savoring the silence, opened his orbs in interest.

"I can't tell you what I wished for!" Naruto protested with a scowl. "Otherwise it won't come true."

Sakura pouted cutely. "Aww…please? I'll give you a hug…" She added with a huge grin.

Naruto's eyes instantly widened. "You'll what?"

"You'll what!" The avenger surprisingly shouted. Realizing what he uttered in a most un-Uchiha-like way, a blush stained his cheeks.

Their pink-haired teammate looked innocently at the embarrassed Uchiha. "Huh? What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

He turned his face to the side in an attempt to hide the crimson stain and mumbled, "N-nothing…"

Naruto forgot about Sakura's proposition and immediately latched onto the unusual trait the Uchiha was showing. "Oooh…" He grinned slyly. "Look's like Sasuke-teme's got a crush-" The energy used for finishing the sentence had to be directed in ducking at the flying piece of cake aimed for his face.

"Hey!" Kakashi shouted in alarm. "No cake-throwing-" Bits of fruit, syrup, and cake smashed on his startled face. It slid off of the mask and fell to the ground with a 'plop!'. "Naruto…" He growled angrily but a wide smile betrayed it. Picking up the fallen piece of cake, he proceeded to throw it expertly at the wide-eyed boy.

"Hey, no fair, it's two against one!" Naruto yelped as fruit pieces mashed a centimeter away from where his head had been previously. Sasuke and Kakashi ignored his pleas and pelted piece after piece at the birthday boy.

Suddenly, a melodious sound broke through the protests and shouts of the cake-fight, causing the boys to pause.

Sakura was wiping a lone tear with her finger, a wide smile spread across her face. She was laughing. "You guys are too funny! Hahahaha!"

Sasuke looked down at his piece of cake he was about to throw at Naruto and an idea popped into his head. An idea so deliciously evil it would make Orochimaru look like a little child. A seldom-seen mischievous smirk made its presence known on his face.

A confused look came across Sakura's features before her eyes widened when she saw him taking a step forward.

"Ohhhh no…" Sakura warned, taking a step back.

Sasuke answered by stepping forward. Then another. Naruto and Kakashi, their faces and clothes smeared with the cake, watched this exchange in silent amusement.

"No, no, no, no, no…" The pink-haired genin reached to take another step backwards but the wall prevented her from going further.

The avenger had her cornered, a slab of cake in one hand, and his devious grin still in place. Sakura gulped, and unconsciously thought how hot he looked…

"Sasuke-kun. I'm warning y-" Sakura's voice was muffled by the sweet taste of cake on her lips…and face.

Naruto and Kakashi burst into peals of laughter, watching the whole ordeal of cake versus Sakura. Sasuke watched in triumph as the pink-haired kunoichi wiped her face stiffly, green eyes filled with rage.

"Sasuke-kun…" She said in a low voice that sent shivers down everyone's spine. He could've sworn there was a glint in her emerald orbs. "Why don't you have some CAKE!" She wiped her cake-covered hand on his unsuspecting cheek. Sasuke's eyes grew wide and his mouth agape; his expression was _priceless_.

Sakura stuck her tongue out playfully before scooping up another small pile of cake from the floor and hurling it at the two spectators.

'Yes! Direct hit!' Her celebration was cut short, however, when a flying remnant of cake smacked her full on the face…again.

-

Exhausted from the cake-fight, Team 7 sat on the couch, shirt, jacket, faces, hair, pants, and shoes smeared with cake. Nothing could escape its notice.

"That was eventful…" Kakashi said lazily, flicking off an iota of white icing off of his jounin jacket.

Sasuke grunted in agreement.

"Ne, Naruto," Sakura started from her spot next to Sasuke. "What _did_ you wish for?"

Naruto grinned like a fox, the whisker-marks fitting nicely with this action. "I wished for a birthday like this every year, with Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-teme, and Sakura-chan!"

"You never know, Naruto…" Kakashi said mysteriously, though his eyes twinkled in amusement.

"Heh. Dobe." Sasuke muttered. Anyone could see he had taken the compliment to heart.

Sakura giggled and poked him lightly in the stomach. "Happy birthday, Naruto-_chan_!"

The blonde-boy scowled upon hearing the attachment. "What! I'm not a girl!" His pink-haired teammate just laughed in amusement.

"What a nice nickname, don't you agree Naruto-_chan_?" Kakashi couldn't resist to add.

Sasuke smirked the infamous Uchiha smirk. "Maybe I'll start calling you that too…Naruto-_chan_."

"Sakura!" Naruto groaned. This only proved to fuel her giggles. Soon, Kakashi-sensei joined in, a smile tugging at Sasuke's lips. Naruto scowled, knowing he couldn't do anything to cease the noise and just opted for crossing his arms in front of his chest.

A happy smile parted Naruto's lips.

'_Happy birthday_…_I like that_.'

-

Wow! (whistles) **Eight** pages! LOL. I didn't think this would be THAT long…ah wells. Eh…please pardon the mistakes, if any. Oh em gee! I was crying while I wrote the part when Naruto was all sad…(sniffles) I know, it probably wasn't his FIRST birthday celebrated, but to add to the sadness and sappiness, I made it so…so HAH! xP Hope it didn't make you cry…argh. I really can't write sad parts…I always overdo it and make it seem so retarded! (tear tear) Hope it didn't sound TOO bad…feh.

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